Despite dire predictions of a slowdown in the PC market, market researcher Dataquest says the market actually grew 15% in 1998, blowing past previous expectations. This bodes well for 1999 as well, the company says, citing the huge demand for low-end systems based on the Intel Celeron.
"The industry has done a phenomenal job of bringing affordable PCs to households," says Dataquest VP William Schaub.
According to the report, Compaq leads the PC market with almost 13 million units shipped in 1998. IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Packard Bell/NEC round out the top five PC makers. Apple is not in the top five for U.S. or worldwide sales or marketshare, despite a strong showing by its new iMac. Schaub notes that Apple has nowhere to go but up, however, as its marketshare is still under 4%